Did you ever hear or imagine of a phone with an option to swap processor, memory, storage, camera sensor and more? Well, Google is trying to make this dream come true with “Project Ara” which was shown off in Google I/O 2015 question, running though it was a prototype.
[button color=”green” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”nofollow” openin=”samewindow” ]What is Project Ara?[/button]
Project Ara is a smartphone project now run by Google where they are building a device with an option to swap most of the device parts, even the device displays. How it became so popular? Who is the person behind it? Why Google adopted it?
This Idea first surfaced on Internet on the website named Phonebloks where they displayed this concept with a set of vector videos and later started raising funds for this project. Dave Hakkens was the person behind this concept. Another company was also on this concept as a secret project with a different name. It was Publicly announced in October 2013. Motorola was working on this project way before the Phonebloks secretly; it came out after it was acquired by Google. The project was named as MotorolaAra. Later, it was modified to Project Ara when Google sold Motorola to Lenovo.
Google Adopted this project because of its modularity to change most of its part and longer usage of same handset. It has a very bright future and may change the way how smartphones are manufactured. Consumers will have more options to choose from. With this concept, many developers also showcased their own concepts, one of the concept displayed below.
[button color=”red” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”nofollow” openin=”samewindow” ]Is it true or still a concept?[/button]
Yes, it is now true but still under development. The working prototype was showcased in the Google I/O 2015 ATAP along with the latest Android M (Click here for more info). Presently, the prototype named as Spiral 2 was showcased and is about to launch in August 2015 in Puerto Rico.
[button color=”green” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”nofollow” openin=”samewindow” ]What are the sizes and what else can it do?[/button]
Project Ara smartphone will come in two sizes for now; mini will have a size similar to Nokia 3310 and medium will retain the size of Nexus 5. Large one will be released with a size similar to Samsung Note 3. This project is different from the other one. The mini and medium also gives an option to add a keyboard on the front.
Apart from playing as a normal smartphone, we can change a range of modules like thermal sensor, extra flash, night vision, more speakers, replace stock camera, change wireless chipset, increase storage and many more. The applications are endless and it will take smartphones to a whole new level of customization.
Here’s a video clip of Project Ara recently showcased in Google I/O 2015 :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mhjngbsXQ0
[button color=”blue” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”nofollow” openin=”samewindow” ]Was there any criticism?[/button]
Yes, there was criticism for this project. According to some users, electronic waste will increase because as soon as any chipset or camera module will come people will buy the new version and throw the old one. It will increase the rate at which the old parts are disposed. Though the criticism is now hardly faced due to its capabilities.
